70 + Dart Bumper Ideas

I'm trying to plan a build on a 70 Dart my dad left behind when he passed. I grew up going to the Nats each year and he also drag raced a Duster and older Dart when I was young. I love Mopars and all the beautifully aesthetic body lines and styling features that come with them, but I really don't like the rear end of the 70's Darts.

I'm posting this thread to try and kick around some ideas / gather what others who may feel similarly have done. If anyone wants to post up some of their ideas or links to some Frankenstein'd back-ends, that would be great!

Graceful, classically-inspired custom work has always caught my eye the most. Somewhere between a "work of art" and riveted hood scoop... Hell, I was even looking at all the many other Mopar tail lights out there to see if splicing them into the bumper would keep the theme going. Duster and Demon-inspired lights spliced into the bumper are the closest I've gotten to something I'd seriously entertain, but I haven't seen any custom fab work done to the rear of a Dart yet.

Here are some images for inspiration. I like the "Poison Dart" tail lights (which appear to be inspired by the inside of the famous Mopar "M", as if flipped on it's side) and the body-color 71-73 bumper (as shown, not sure how it would look on different colors). If anyone has custom body work to go with it, I'd love to see it!

The dual slot one appears to be on 3 different cars. Looks like it was modded, and bolts shaved, then rechromed. Nice looking piece IMHO

I think the poison Dart taillights are 70 Road Runner lights in a custom bumper, right? When you take those ugly 70Dart fixtures out, send me a PM if you want to get rid of them (you wouldn't want to leave those ugly things sitting around in your garage)

I like the tail lights on the 71 best. That said, to me, "something" stock always looks best.

moparmat2000 said:

The dual slot one appears to be on 3 different cars. Looks like it was modded, and bolts shaved, then rechromed. Nice looking piece IMHO

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So far, that's my favorite. I've always been a fan of tucked and shaved bumpers. Great way to keep it "pure" while dressing it up a bit.

str12-340 said:

I think the poison Dart taillights are 70 Road Runner lights in a custom bumper, right? When you take those ugly 70Dart fixtures out, send me a PM if you want to get rid of them (you wouldn't want to leave those ugly things sitting around in your garage)

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I wondered how they accomplished that. There's a gigantic metal casing that houses each one of the lights already, giving plenty of real estate to fool around with different hardware. I'll PM you.

RustyRatRod said:

I like the tail lights on the 71 best. That said, to me, "something" stock always looks best.

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I agree. Those slotted lights look pretty gnarly, but there's a fine line between getting "custom" and making your car look cheesy. Finding that middle ground can be tough. I think I lean more towards a stock-ish look.